Two days after winning the European title, it slowly dawns on the U17 girls’ team what has actually happened to them.

Players of the National Academy of Handball (NEKA) were telling stories happily about the European Championships, the demanding preparations and the excellent team spirit, which has resulted in winning the most coveted medal at the event.

 

Blanka Kajdon:
One of the best summers of my life. We started in the beginning of July with the girls, everyone was determined from the very first moments. Expectations ran high, as last year’s victory at the European Open Championships we were supposed to finish first again. Yet we could not pay much attention to this, we focused instead on getting into the best shape possible by the start of the tournament. I think that during the four weeks spent with the national team we not only managed to complete all training units but succeeded to form a team spirit of the best kind. This has been our strength during the ten days. We fought in every match for each other and the national flag. I would like to thank the coaches and the whole staff the incredible effort they invested for us as well as the fans who followed us during the championships. It will remain as a lifetime experience; I still cannot grasp what is happening to me.

 

Viktória Woth:
What an amazing experience! We have been preparing a lot to play against the best teams in Europe in a competitive setting. I tried not to focus on what the final result of the tournament would be, but only concentrate on doing my job as good as I can. Step by step, action for action, half by half and match for match. I think I succeeded for most of the time. The work we put has come to fruition, we finished as European champions in our age group with an unbeaten run. Even though such preparations take a lot of effort, I would restart it tomorrow morning, because these moments are the reason why it is worth playing handball and doing sports. Now we take a little rest but then go on. No time to stop, a new season and new challenges are ahead of us.

Míra Vámos:
Preparations had gone well in every aspect, so we went to Slovenia with confidence. We only focused on the match at hand, never looking further ahead. The group stage did not pose any problems, however, during the main round we had to play against more conscious and challenging opponents. Once we got to the semi-final stage, for each of us the gold medal seemed a realistic goal. Due to this, the first half of the semi-final did not go as planned but we could overcome that period, too. The final was played in front of several hundred Hungarian fans who created a fascinating atmosphere in the arena. Our opponents made us pay for each little mistake, but we fought as a team even in the toughest periods. The moment of victory was cathartic, we have not experienced anything similar in our careers yet. This victory encourages us to do more hard work in order to achieve great results in the future.

Barbara Bánhidi:
Based on our previous results we looked forward to the European Championships with high hopes. We must admit we had a little tension inside as we knew these matches were to be quite different from what we experienced before. We quickly overcame this and played with confidence. We prepared well, worked a lot, but this was true for our opponents as well. Among the best five, six teams only the current performance made the difference. At this level, fighting for each other, helping each other out could play an important role in reaching this wonderful result. A joy for me to be part of this team.

Gréta Juhász:
We are terribly happy to be standing on top of the podium as European champions. The squad has spent a lot of time together, which united us, the more so as we decided to put the first place as our aim to reach right at the beginning of our preparations. We worked a lot, fought hard and it brought rewards. If I think back on these days and weeks, happiness, struggles, a handful of unforgettable moments and of course, the gold medal that we worked so hard for will all come to my mind.

Maja Mérai:
In the four-week long training camp we played against several strong opponents, we won all matches there, and you could feel strength in the team. Nevertheless, the coaching staff kept us on the ground, and would not put extra burden on us. But, of course, we wanted to win. After the group matches in the main round Sweden and Norway awaited us. Perhaps these two matches were the toughest. There we felt the pressure, but at the same time also that we play for the final victory. In the final, the Hungarian supporters created a fantastic atmosphere, we had goose bumps. We were all the time in control and beat the Swedes. It is unbelievable that I am here and can be part of this victory. A fantastic feeling!

Nikolett Horváth:
We were best at fighting, we pulled each other out of negative periods, and won each match showing good team spirit. It is true that we took gold at the European Open Championships last year, but this event had a different character and we were prepared for that. Only the aim we had been set by ourselves could be a burden, but in reality it only encouraged us. These six weeks just brought us closer to each other. “Bidding farewell” will not be easy but I hope we will be together very soon again. It is still hard to grasp what we have accomplished. We thank all those who were with us, believed in us and contributed with their support to our success.

Luca Faragó:
A long, but the more enjoyable period is behind us. In the training camp we managed to become one team. It has helped us achieve this wonderful result. One of the strengths of the team is to be able to fight together on and off court. It is an incredibly good feeling to win the European Championships, since the field was very strong. I am proud of the team and glad to be part of this success. We thank our coaches and the entire staff for getting us ready, and besides that we also thank for the support and the encouragement.

Molli Kubina:There has been some level of pressure on us, since the women’s youth national teams do score success one after another. Therefore, we also wanted to prove our qualities. This has been our first big international tournament, so we were excited and anxious, which showed in the first match, but we performed well and stood our ground. We fought for each other as a team to win and corrected our mistakes the same way. This month from the beginning of preparations until the end of the Championships has been fabulous, I enjoyed it very much, it has been fun to work together with the girls and the staff.

Laura Nagy:
We were best in the unity of our team, since we fought for each other and our country. Our motto has also been: one for all, all for one. We played without any burden and freely, but still wanted to reach the best result we could. As we moved from match to match and won, everyone could see that we have good chances to win this tournament. These weeks have been very hard, but it was all worth the effort. This has been the best summer of my life.